Baku: A customs duty exemption is set to be introduced for goods produced in the Alat Free Economic Zone, APA reports. This development is part of proposed amendments to the Law "On Customs Tariff," which were deliberated at a recent session of the Milli Majlis.

According to Azeri-Press News Agency, the draft law stipulates that goods originating in Azerbaijan and fully produced by a Free Zone legal entity within the Alat Free Economic Zone, or adequately processed there in line with the processing criteria sanctioned under the Commodity Nomenclature for Foreign Economic Activity, will qualify for customs duty exemptions when brought from the Free Zone into the principal customs territory. This exemption is poised to last for 15 years from the establishment date of the Free Zone legal entity responsible for producing or processing the goods, contingent upon at least 50 percent of these goods being exported outside the country, as per procedures designated by the relevant executive authority.

If the law is ratified, it will come into effect on January 1, 2027. The draft law was subjected to a vote and successfully passed its first reading.